WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden said Thursday that Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also supports re-elections in Venezuela, despite rejection by both Venezuela’s ruling party and opposition parties who claim victory in the July 28 election.
Biden spoke to reporters after Lula suggested Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro could call for new elections with international observers as a solution to the country’s political crisis, after the United States rejected Maduro’s claim of victory.
Asked if he would support new elections in Venezuela, Biden said, “I would.”
The proposal is one of several from the international community, but so far has not been supported by Maduro or his allies in the opposition coalition.
The United States in April tightened oil sanctions against OPEC members after Maduro failed to abide by an agreement on the terms of the election, but other Western countries have shown little sign of taking swift or tougher action against what many have criticized as vote fraud.
President Lula said a “coalition government” could be another solution for Venezuela.
“If (President Maduro) has common sense, he might appeal to the people for common sense and call new elections with a nonpartisan electoral commission,” Lula said in a radio interview.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado rejected Biden and Lula’s oversight.
“The elections are over,” Machado said in a video call with Argentine and Chilean reporters late Thursday. “Maduro must be informed that with every day that passes, the costs of his staying in office increase.”
Venezuela’s ruling party officials have also previously denied holding new elections.
Brazil’s president has said he still does not recognise Maduro as the winner of the vote and that the government must make public the results of the vote, which have yet to be released, echoing calls from around the world over the past two weeks.
“President Maduro knows he owes Brazil and the world an explanation,” Lula said.
Lula and Colombian President Gustavo Petro spoke by phone on Wednesday as part of efforts to find a solution to Venezuela’s crisis, but details of the meeting were not released.
In a post on X on Thursday, Petro suggested Venezuela’s ruling and opposition parties could temporarily alternate power, following an arrangement adopted by Colombia for 16 years in the 20th century.
“A political solution in Venezuela rests with President Nicolas Maduro, who is responsible for the peace and prosperity of the country,” Petro said in another post, adding that a political agreement was the best option and was up to the Venezuelan people.
Petro, who has resumed trade and diplomatic relations with Venezuela since taking office in 2022, also called for the lifting of all sanctions against Venezuela.
Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino said at his weekly press conference on Thursday that he plans to discuss the crisis when Latin American leaders visit the Dominican Republic this weekend for the inauguration of the country’s new president.
Celso Amorim, President Lula’s top foreign policy adviser, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Brazil has not formally proposed new elections in Venezuela.
Conservative senators at the hearing criticized Lula’s government for being soft on Maduro and asked what Brazil was doing for jailed opposition leaders.
Amorim said Brazil had offered to fly in and pick up six opposition members who have been seeking asylum at the Argentine embassy, where the Brazilian flag is flying, since Venezuela severed diplomatic ties with Argentina.
Venezuela’s electoral authorities said Maduro won 51% of the vote but have not released the vote total.
Gonzalez won 67% of the vote, according to results posted by the opposition on its official website.
